How Many Different Techniques are There? - - Chief Instructor's Blog December 2017

Last month I wrote that in the beginning we teach and have students practice one punch, one kick that has a very specific target in a specific stance.  I went on to write that there are actually hundreds if you practice different locations, different stances, different ranges, different directions (angle of attack), and different intentions.   Regardless, though, the fundamentals (proper alignment, grounded, focus, intent) are the same. 

This may start to seem overwhelming if you think of all the techniques and if each has hundreds of variations, how can one ever learn all of them.  I also contend, however, that there are fewer techniques than there may appear at first.  You may think I am speaking out of both sides of my mouth, but let me try to explain in more detail.

At an advanced level we stop thinking of just one spot of the body being used for the attack, but the entire body part is the weapon and whatever actually makes contact transfers the force.  This may still not quite make sense yet.  So let’s look at a couple of techniques in particular.

Let’s look at high block.  In the beginning, we focus on the forearm edge as the contact point, but in reality it could be the elbow, the bottom of the hand (hammer fist) or even the knuckles (an upward punch).  At an advanced level we teach that it could be any of those things because if your entire arm is being a weapon then it does not matter if your opponent moves or is not precisely where you intended him/her to be, you will still be effective.  The key, though, is you must be grounded and have the right alignment (your two knuckles much be aligned, wrist flat, elbows down, etc.) for any of those intentions to be effective.

Let’s look at hook punch.  In the beginning, we teach this as a very close in punch to the side of your opponent’s body.  And it very well can be.  It might also be an elbow strike, forearm strike or a very close in hammer fist.  So now what is the difference between a high block and a hook punch?   I contend the only difference is range, location and angle of attack.  The rest is basically the same.

Let’s compare an outward hammer fist to a low block.  In both of these cases, you could end up striking with the elbow, forearm or the bottom of the fist.  So these two techniques are really one – the difference is range, location, angle of attack. 

Similar concept when you are comparing hammer fists to knife hands – if throwing these techniques in the same direction, the only difference is that one is thrown with an open hand and the other with a closed hand – other than that they are the same technique and the same fundamentals apply.

So, there are not as many “techniques” to learn in the end as one was originally taught or that one may think.  And so, I go back to my point in last month’s blog: what is most important to learn is the fundamentals (alignment, motion, key attributes) and practice until they are second nature– this way, when you throw that technique no matter the location, range or angle of attack, it will be effective. 

Regards,

Kelly

“A student well versed in even one technique will naturally see corresponding points in other techniques. A upper level punch, a lower punch, a front punch and a reverse punch are all essentially the same.  Looking over thirty-odd kata, he should be able to see that they are essentially variations on just a handful.” ~ Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957), founder of Shotokan Karate

How May Punches/Kicks Are There? - - Chief Instructor's Blog November 2017

In the beginning, we teach and have students practice one punch, one kick.  We teach students a specific point of impact and have student’s practice over and over again to get the targeting exact every time.  Remember if it is not precise, it is not a martial art.

In the beginning, you are learning body awareness and control.  You are learning to feel exactly where every part of your body is and how it moves.  To support you in that learning we teach you very specific target locations as part of basics in very specific stances assuming the opponent is your same exact height.  We teach you to exhale on each strike/kick because this is, as well, teaching body awareness and control. 

After you become more proficient and more aware, you learn there are many different punches or kicks.  The fundamentals all remain the same though. 

For instance, we always teach to punch with the first two knuckles.  We always teach elbows in and do not allow them to flare out.  However, we start to practice and be aware there are many targets, not just the sternum (nose, chin, cheekbone, temple, ribs, kidneys, groin, etc.)  We also practice and teach to throw punches in other stances: natural stance, closed stance, cat stance, etc.  We also practice and learn we have a range of distances; from close in to elbow bent at the end (as long as shoulders and hips stay square, stance is solid and grounded, etc.). 

Similar concept with kicks.  For example, for front kicks we always teach piston action and use of the ball of the foot.  Once we get the foundation down, we explore and practice various targets: shins, knees, groin, abdomen (sternum and face if you have the flexibility).  We also practice and explore various stances: closed stance, attack stance (as a rear leg kick), cat stance (front and rear leg), etc. 

When we teach hyung, the techniques are specific, including location, where we look, etc.  And again, this is to learn body awareness, targeting location, precision.  When using these techniques in an application, however, the targeting may be different and/or the intention of the technique different, for instance, but again the fundamentals will be the same.

There is also intention – are you trying to stop, damage, destroy?   The reality is there are hundreds of punches or kicks.  There is not just one.  There are different locations, different stances, different ranges, different directions, and different intentions.  The key is always the fundamentals (proper alignment, grounded, focus, intent). 

It is important to learn these fundamentals and practice until they are second nature without being locked into one concept of a punch or kick – this way, when you throw that punch or kick no matter the target or direction it will be effective. 

Regards,

Kelly

"Practicing a kata exactly is one thing, engaging in a real fight is another." ~ Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957), founder of Shotokan Karate

Training The Mind Through Attitude/Intent - Chief Instructor's Blog October 2017

As I pointed out in last month’s blog, training the mind is as important as training the body.  Last month I concentrated on the focus part…this month will focus on the attitude/intent aspect of training the mind. 

In class we also we train the mind through our attitude and intent when performing techniques, hyung, sparring, board breaking, drills, etc. 

Your attitude is critical: you must believe the outcome is possible and in fact, the outcome is a given.  When breaking boards, the attitude is not I will break the board, but the board is already broken.  When performing the unbendable arm drill, your attitude is not you are trying to maintain and unbendable arm or will keep an unbendable arm, but the arm is simply unbendable.   

Gichin Funakoshi, founder of Shotokan Karate said, "One whose spirit and mental strength have been strengthened by sparring with a never-say-die attitude should find no challenge too great to handle.  One who has undergone long years of physical pain and mental agony to learn one punch, one kick, should be able to face any task, no matter how difficult, and carry it through to the end. A person like this can truly be said to have learned karate."

In addition, intent is important in your training.  In line with the Han Moo Kwan philosophy, for example, your intent when performing a technique like low block or high block, the technique should not be performed defensively or to deflect, but the intent should be to shatter/break/destroy the opponent’s weapon. In performing your kicks/strikes, for example, your intent should be to penetrate the target.  When performing self-defense from a grab your intent should be striking/slicing through the grab. 

 
Sensei Soke Behzad Ahmadi says it well in his novel Legacy of A Sensei, “Any self-defense situation has the potential to quickly become A 'life and death' situation, therefore your practice of martial arts should be undertaken, as if your very life depends on it . . .”
 
Therefore, to protect yourself instantly if your life depended on it, you must train that way.

So, when practicing, have a positive attitude.  Strike/kick to penetrate the target and block to break.  If you do so, you will find your techniques are more effective.

Regards,

Kelly

“The spirit of the individual is determined by his dominating thought habits.” ~ Bruce Lee, (1940 –1973) American-born Chinese Hong Kong martial artist, actor, and founder of Jeet Kune Do

 

Training The Mind by Staying Focused - Chief Instructor's Blog September 2017

Training the mind is as important as training the body. 

In many ways, the mind prevents us from achieving an outcome.  If you do not believe you can perform a technique, or learn a new form, or break a board, etc. then you most likely will not.  If you get distracted from a task, then you may not be able to perform the activity at hand well.  The mind is important – and training the mind is important.

For this blog, I am going to concentrate on the staying focused part of training the mind.

In class we train the mind to stay focused, in the moment, through drills like performing hyung while someone tries to distract you, the kaniuk drill, executing the techniques and ignoring any inner critique on the performance of any technique, and unbendable arm to name a few.  Another practice in class is to stay totally focused from the moment you go into Attention until you are told to relax.  This means you don’t wipe your forehead, scratch, adjust your stance, or tug at your uniform.  During a fight, any of these actions would be seen by your opponent as weakness.   A total lack of these activities would be perceived as intense focus and power.  If you saw your opponent perform any of these actions, you could treat it as an opportunity to take advantage, and you would be smart to do so.

One of the reasons I do not want people to bring their cell phones into class or check them in class is to reinforce this mindset that while you are in class you are in class.  If you think you need to check your phone during class then you need to take it outside (bowing in and out to again reinforce when you are in class, you are present and focused on class), but my real preference is you set it aside for the entire class session so you can practice being present for the entire hour without distractions.

You can train your mind outside of class as well and not just while doing physical activity.  Training your mind starts with awareness of how easily or often you get distracted.  Are there certain sounds that distract you?  Are there certain activities that you get distracted from easier than others?  Being aware of what distracts you is the first step in training your mind.  After being aware and noticing what distracts you, you can the start to come back to the focus or task at hand allowing the distraction to pass you by without judging or analyzing it. 

At work, can you go 10 minutes and focus on the task at hand and not stop because of an email, IM, or text message coming through?   15 minutes? 20 minutes? Can you have a conversation with friends for 10 minutes in person and not check your phone? 15 minutes? 20 minutes?

Try it – for some, this may be easy, for others it may be difficult.  I challenge you to see how long you can focus on any task and stay present.

If you practice training your mind, whatever your starting place may be for now where you can stay focused, over time, you will eventually be able to go longer and longer without being distracted.  This is basically one way of meditating.  Meditation can take on many forms – the one most people are familiar with is sitting quietly, but meditation can also be practiced as a single point concentration while performing a task mindfully: walking, driving, cooking, gardening, cleaning.  In class, this could include basics, hyung, etc. 

I challenge each of you to discover how long you can focus on a task without being distracted – whether it is at work, at home, in the dojang, or with any other activity you preform.  Once you discover that, I challenge each of you to practice training the mind so you can go 5 minutes longer, then 10, then 15, etc. until you can stay focused as long as you choose.  This is not an easy practice by any means, but it is an important practice, and in a self-defense scenario, it may turn out to be the most important practice of martial arts.

Regards,

Kelly

"Be master of mind rather than mastered by mind." ~ Zen Proverb

 

Practicing Both Yoga and Martial Arts? - - Chief Instructor's Blog August 2017

In my July 2017 blog, I discussed the fact that there are many ways to improve your skills in the dojang outside the dojang through exploring the practice of mind-body-breath connection principles in any physical activity you perform.  I also mentioned that one of the activities I practice, and bring the principles I learn in the dojang to that practice and vice versa is yoga.

Some people may think it strange or in conflict to practice both yoga and an energy-based martial art.

I have been studying and practicing martial arts for 23 years and, in the last 5 years, I have added yoga to my practice.  It may seem a strange mix.  One can be viewed as violent, the other as peaceful.

For me the two have more in common than not.

Both are meant to be more than just a physical practice.  And while many people get into both of them for the physical aspects, the reality is there is much more depth to both and, in the end, both are meant to support a way of life balancing mind, body and spirit (breath).

When practicing the physical aspect, both can improve balance, strength, endurance, and coordination.  For both, physical alignment is critical to stay safe and be effective in performing the poses (yoga) or executing the techniques (martial arts) and it is an important part of the physical practice.  In both studies the transition is as important as the actual pose or technique itself.

Focus is important.  Maintaining focus through the pose or technique is a large part of the practice.

With instructors who are trained well, both will focus on having students practice grounding and extending energy to improve their physical practice and to improve the mind-body-breath connection.

Both are a practice and meant to be studied to learn all you can from them to improve your way of life.  Both are meant to be a journey of discovery about yourself.  Both are meant to help you stay centered and focused on improving yourself, not competing with others, and leaving the ego at the door.  This also means honoring your body and knowing when you have pushed yourself to the edge.  It also means being in tune with your body to know what the edge is because it can change from day to day, week to week depending on how well you slept, what you ate, if you had been injured or sick, etc.

Both are also a breath practice.  Both are meant to improve your consciousness of your breathing, improve your experience of breathing, and learn to breathe smoothly and evenly.

Both at the end of the day are about improving yourself.

Regards,

Kelly

"A man who has attained mastery of an art reveals it in every action" ~ Samurai Maxim

 

 

Ways to Improve in The Dojang: Mind-Body-Breath Connection - - Chief Instructor's Blog July 2017

Many ways exist to improve your skills in the dojang outside the dojang.  One way students can improve their skills in the dojang faster is by incorporating what we do during class into their everyday lives and everyday activities.  And there are many ways to approach this.  In this blog, I will focus on a principle that is one of the essences of martial arts: the mind-body-breath connection. 

This mind-body-breath connection can be explored and practiced in almost any physical activity one performs.  As noted in my August 2015 blog “Samurai Training versus Today’s Martial Arts”, the elite Samurai practiced tea ceremony ritual, flower arranging, music, and painting.  In these activities, the Samurai practiced deep focus, concentration, awareness (mind); along with steady, conscious breathing (breath), while they performed the physical aspect (body).

Eugen Herrigel, in his 1948 book “Zen in the Art of Archery”, describes how he learned and mastered over the course of six years the mind-body connection through studying archery.

So you may want to know where you can sign up for tea ceremony, flower arranging, or archery classes?  The bad news is these classes may not be easy to find, but the good news is you can apply the principles of mind-body-breath to any, yes, any activity.

We have students in the club that have described how they practice these principles when they race motorcycles / cars, shoot at the gun range, garden, woodwork, pottery, walk, run, bicycle, play golf, and lift weights.  Any physical activity is a chance to practice and master mind-body-breath connection.  Any physical activity is an opportunity to integrate into your life this principle so it is part of who you are, not what you do.

I, for one, have integrated these principles in my other activities: yoga, softball, hiking, bicycling, and lifting weights.

If you want to improve your balance, grounding, focus, discipline, breathing, coordination, etc. in the dojang then start, continue or increase the integration and principles of mind-body-breath connection in every physical activity you do.  I think you will be amazed at not only the improvement you see in your techniques in the dojang but in all the activities you like to participate in.

Regards,

Kelly

"The man, the art, the work--it is all one.” ~ Eugen Herrigel (1884 –1955), a German philosopher and author; his most famous work Zen in the Art of Archery

Be Precise Consistently - - Chief Instructor's Blog June 2017

I have mentioned in class many times that if is it not precise and consistent it is not a martial art, and commonly just street fighting.  I do not remember where I read, but it is so very true.

But why is it so important to be precise?  Is the way we teach basics and techniques in our hyung the exact way we would react to defend ourselves?   Absolutely not!

To be precise consistently takes focus/concentration, discipline, and body awareness.  All of these are extremely important in becoming a proficient and effective martial artist. It also teaches us how to target appropriately.

It is easy just to throw a punch and just see where it lands – you do not have to focus or concentrate or actually pay any attention to what your body may be doing.  To actually strike the exact spot you intend to takes skills and those skills are required to protect yourself.

We teach an exact spot in basics techniques not because it is the only target that is useful but it is one and it supports the teachings to allow you to practice focus, discipline, concentration and body awareness.  Once you are proficient in targeting one location, you should practice all locations that are effective until those are precise.  For example, in forward and attack punches during basics, our target is your own sternum height.  Does that mean the only time we punch is at the sternum? Of course not.  Some other effective targets are groin, kidneys, lower ribs, and nose.  And those targets should be practiced as well as much as the sternum level.

In hyung, we teach a specific target and intent when we first teach students the hyung.  Again, these targets are effective and useful, but they are not the only targets of those techniques.  However, in the beginning, to practice the focus/concentration, discipline, and body awareness, it is important to limit oneself to one.  Once you stick the target every time without wavering, which is usually by the time you reach black belt, then practicing other targets that are effective is another step to learning the hyung and aspects of the hyung that are meant to be learned. 

Let’s take the opening move to Pyung Ahn 1.  When we teach this hyung in the beginning, the downward hammer fist is meant to strike your opponent’s collarbone (who happens to be your same height).  This same downward hammer fist could be used to strike your opponent’s sternum.  Another target is a response to an attempted bear hug from behind where your opponent tries to pin your arms. As you raise your arms to the prep position to stop the grab, the downward hammer strike is straight outward to strike the one arm away and the reciprocal action is an elbow to the ribs (stance will be more of a sparring cat stance versus our basic cat stance).  However, in each case, the targeting should be precise consistently.

Brian Rainie, a member of our Associations’ Board of Directors and a fifth Degree Black Belt in our art form, demonstrates and discusses this topic in his Back Belt Challenge #1.  See the Association website: http://hanmookwan.org/BlackBeltChallenges.htm

So, when you think you have learned a technique or form with precision consistently, practice a new target that is effective until you are precise consistency, then move to the next and then next.  This is another reason why learning a martial art can be a life’s journey.  You will always have new methods to learn and conquer.  You never run out of material! 

Regards,

Kelly

"Excellence is an art won by training & habituation." ~ Aristotle, (384 – 322 BCE), Greek philosopher